REVIEW: Gladiator II: An underwhelming but worthy sequel

*This review contains a spoiler for Gladiator*.

As I sat down to watch Gladiator II, I noticed that I was the youngest member of the audience by quite a bit. It very quickly dawned on me that what I seemed to be witnessing was the same resurgence that Top Gun: Maverick saw which I was very glad to see. Not only was Maverick an extraordinary piece of blockbuster cinema and lightyears better than anyone thought it would be, but it brought back all the people who saw the original in 86 back to the cinema for some much needed nostalgia.

This is not as good as the first nor is the wait as dramatic, yet Gladiator II has a similar feeling of returning to that same old school, cherished blockbuster nostalgia. Top Gun is of course the primary example but another would be Twisters which came out this summer, sometimes re-visiting an old property can pay off but I would not go round saying that they should do all of them. Judging by how full this was, people do seem to want to come back and I suspect and hope it will make a sizeable amount of money.

This time around, twenty-four years later, Ridley Scott once again returns to the helm. We follow the son of Maximus Decimus Meridius who was killed at the end of the first film (for whom Russell Crowe won an Oscar for portraying) named Lucius who is played here by Paul Mescal. At the beginning of the film, his homeland is raided and attacked by the corrupt and tyrannical twin emperors who now rule and lead Rome – Emperor Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Emperor Caracalla (Fred Hechinger).

Lucius’s wife is killed in battle and he is shipped off to Rome to become a gladiator to enter the coliseum to fight for his life and freedom. Pedro Pascal is the general Marcus Acacius who he must face off against as well as Denzel Washington’s Macrinus who has his own desires for the thrown and power and uses Lucius to get there.

In what was information previously unbeknownst to me, but a sequel to Gladiator has long been rumoured and in development. Throughout many years, various different story ideas were thrown about – two of which were about the corruption of the city and another one that would focus on Maximus. At one point, Nick Cave wrote a draft for a screenplay.

Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

Nevertheless, here we are. Gladiator II is good but not great. On the positive side, this truly feels like good old Ridley Scott on form, doing what he does best. If you look at both Blade Runner films for example, he is a world builder and can bring things to astonishing life. Not only is he able to rekindle the sense of awe and spectacle he is known for but is also able to call to mind – for me at least- the golden era of classical, Hollywood cinema.

It is an old fashioned, sword and sandals, swashbuckling epic akin to the likes of Ben-Hur, Cleopatra and the work of Cecile B. Demille, among others. Surprisingly, this is something that I did not get with the first yet I felt that it was forefront here. I saw this in IMAX and it goes without saying but, if you can, make sure you see this on the biggest possible screen with the loudest sound system. Composer Harry- Gregson- Williams, whom I am a big fan of, takes the reigns from Hans Zimmer’s iconic original and does an admirable enough job with the score.

Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

I did not give much thought to the film’s 15 certificate as I presumed it would be like any other period action film. Quite the opposite in fact. This is undoubtedly the most violent 15 I have ever seen and I was pretty astonished to see how far it went. Speaking of the auditorium’s sound, you feel every single punch this film throws and then some. There is some properly convincing physical violence, action and fight scenes that go all in and are unafraid to do so.

One of the films biggest positives and factors that separates the two is that it does have significantly more bite and brute force than before and is ferociously primal. ”This is about survival!” as ‘Lucius’ loudly proclaims. So much so, in fact, that there are decapitations and slicing of throats which does make this stand out. They have certainly gone as far as they can with this without making this an 18 certificate and it was a mixture of shock and admiration that I had. Given the acting pedigree on display, it is of no surprise to say that each performance is brilliant, but, I have to say…

Take a bow Denzel Washington. As harsh as it may sound, there is almost no point anyone else trying when he is having this much fun with a role. From what I hear, he has done some Shakespeare work in the past and played Macbeth in Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth in 2o21. To my knowledge, this is one of few on screen roles that he has undertaken that resembles a pantomime character. He is all cloaked and blinged up with jewellery and golden robes that he swerves and flips effortlessly. Whilst a nomination for Best Supporting Actor should at least be in the bag, I would go as far to say that he deserves his third Oscar here as I see no competition so far.

Photo credit: Paramount Pictures

The flaws are that, despite its scale, there is a fair usage of CGI and some of it is rather disappointing. One particular sequence involves CGI monkeys in an arena which came across as slightly too silly as well as the opening battle which did not look quite as good as it should have. I wish I could say that the story feels fresher than it does. It does expect you to have seen the first as it follows almost the exact same structure and style without explaining why things are happening; if you are a newcomer you may want slightly more detail which the film sadly does not give you.

Given the hefty two and a half hour running time, sections in the beginning do seem strangely rushed for that same reason. There are a few moments where it is off to the races unnecessarily nor does it leave much room for any emotional impact later on when I feel as though it could have benefitted from doing so. In the end, despite not being perfect but existing in an age of so much headbanging mainstream sludge, it does offer a slightly more refreshing alternative that we have loved and seen in the past and is brave to do so.

As a sequel to a film that is as beloved as Gladiator is, it does its job and could have gone spectacularly wrong. We are lucky with this outcome. Without saying much more and a possible explanation as to why I have the reservations that I do, part of me thought that they should have called this Gladiator II: Part One instead as there is the slightest air of that.

8/10

In cinemas now